It took a while, but the first commitment of Northwestern's Class of 2013 turned out to be well worth the wait.

Four-star Rivals250 quarterback Matt Alviti committed to the Wildcat head coach Pat Fitzgerald after Northwestern's spring exhibition this afternoon to become the first member of the Wildcats' class.

Alviti confirmed his commitment via a text message to WildcatReport.

Wildcat coaches no doubt feel that Alviti's verbal commitment was a long time coming. Northwestern was the first school to offer Alviti, way back in December of 2010, shortly after he led Park Ridge (Ill.) Maine South to the state championship as a sophomore. He visited Northwestern several times over the last year-plus, most recently for the first day of spring practice as well as Saturday's spring exhibition.

The 6-foot, 176-pounder narrowed his choices to Northwestern or Notre Dame by the end of the 2011 season. Michigan State then joined the fray with an offer, and it came down to the Wildcats or Spartans after Malik Zaire committed to the Irish last month.

Northwestern's spread offense played a role in Alviti's decision, as it's very similar to the system he runs at Maine South. Michigan State runs a pro-style attack that features much more pocket passing.